Vilnius through the museum window

Vilnius is often seen through a window in wartime works. When the Nazis banned painting in the streets, artists found a way out by capturing views of the city from safe private spaces, such as their or their friends’ homes, offices or studios. One of the hubs of artistic life in Vilnius at that time was the Vilnius Art Museum in the Town Hall, directed by Adolfas Valeška (1905–1994). Before moving to the regained capital in 1939, Valeška had been a collector of folk art and head of the Museum of Church Art in Kaunas. In his painting Vilnius through the museum window, we can see not only a view of the city with Town Hall Square, but also Lithuanian cultural symbols that the artist considered relevant: a sculpture of the Mother of God carved by a folk craftsman, and some fabric with folk patterns.

Vytautas Mackevičius (1911–1991) also painted the city through a window, but for rather different reasons. In 1940 and 1941, he had worked in Soviet Lithuania as an inspector for the Board of Art Affairs, so during the Nazi occupation he tried to keep a low profile, and painted Town Hall Square from Valeška’s studio, which was next to the museum.

Algirdas Petrulis (1915–2010) was employed as a curator at the museum run by Valeška. The view Vokiečių Street in Vilnius that he painted through the museum window, capturing part of the Old Town that was later destroyed during the Soviet occupation, is now part of history.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
© LATGA, Vilnius 2024

Vilnius is often seen through a window in wartime works. When the Nazis banned painting in the streets, artists found a way out by capturing views of the city from safe private spaces, such as their or their friends’ homes, offices or studios. One of the hubs of artistic life in Vilnius at that time was the Vilnius Art Museum in the Town Hall, directed by Adolfas Valeška (1905–1994). Before moving to the regained capital in 1939, Valeška had been a collector of folk art and head of the Museum of Church Art in Kaunas. In his painting Vilnius through the museum window, we can see not only a view of the city with Town Hall Square, but also Lithuanian cultural symbols that the artist considered relevant: a sculpture of the Mother of God carved by a folk craftsman, and some fabric with folk patterns.

Vytautas Mackevičius (1911–1991) also painted the city through a window, but for rather different reasons. In 1940 and 1941, he had worked in Soviet Lithuania as an inspector for the Board of Art Affairs, so during the Nazi occupation he tried to keep a low profile, and painted Town Hall Square from Valeška’s studio, which was next to the museum.

Algirdas Petrulis (1915–2010) was employed as a curator at the museum run by Valeška. The view Vokiečių Street in Vilnius that he painted through the museum window, capturing part of the Old Town that was later destroyed during the Soviet occupation, is now part of history.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
© LATGA, Vilnius 2024